Study Links Photosynthesis Genes to Marine Virus Fitness
Wednesday, February 4, 2009 - 18:07
in Biology & Nature
A recent Northeastern University study has shown, for the first time, the effect of individual genes on the fitness of a marine species at the ecosystem level. Using his innovative computer simulation model, engineering professor Ferdi Hellweger found that eliminating photosynthesis genes from viruses that attack important marine photosynthetic bacterial organisms will negatively impact the fitness of these viruses, ultimately killing them.